I have never really understood soccer. When my son was in middle school and made the soccer team, I tried in, good faith, to grasp the rules and comprehend all the nuances. Like most sports, the concept is seemingly easy. The object is to get a ball through the other team's goal. Also like most sports, there are 5 billion rules intact that everyone seems to understand but me. You can't use your hands, there is an allotted numbers of players allowed on the field, if you get hurt... channel your inner Erika Kane and be dramatic with your injury (I know I know, my pop culture references are pretty hep and current.)
When that same son ( I only have one son) started watching the World Cup a few weeks ago, I wasn't terribly interested in it. To be fair, the tv is always blaring some type of sports program in our house, so it went pretty unnoticed at first. I would hear him hooping and hollering and I asked him about the latest match. He was well versed in the knowledge of the game and the World Cup rankings. He explained to me which countries need to win and how that would effect the overall chances for a possible US victory.
I, along with the rest of my household, ended up getting swept up in World Cup fever. We all, including my parents visiting from out of town, began watching the US matches with enthusiasm and the same limited soccer knowledge as we had for the middle school games. It was fun rooting for the US. All of the players were young and energetic. If there were any "big names" of soccer on the team, I was unaware of it. It was just good clean family fun. (Spoiler Alert- the US lost to the Netherlands.)
I tried to glean a few lessons from the World Cup:
Go full steam ahead- Apparently when you get benched in professional soccer, that is it. You are done for the game. You get replaced and never go back in. If you look at the grand scheme of a lifetime, it is kind of the same. We only have one chance on this blue marble. Give it all you have and leave a sweaty mess. Even if you didn't score, maybe you wore the other team out. Your replacement will appreciate it.
Look for the people that are different. In soccer, everyone wears the same uniform, except for the Goalie. The Goalie wears a solid color, usually a reflective matching shorts and shirt. The Goalie can do all sorts of things that the others can't. He can use his hands, he can makes his best judgement on how far he wants to stray from the goal. This can also be applied to life. The people who don't follow the norm, have different rules and call their own shots are usually the people in charge. Learn to recognize who they are and figure out if they are on your team or not.
Moderation makes things special. My husband and son watch the NFL from July (preseason) to February (Superbowl) every year. My husband is an avid NHL fan and I don't think their seasons ever stop. Hockey may take a break for a weekend in the summer then it's endlessly back on the tv and clogging traffic near the arenas. The World Cup is different, it only happens every 4 years and the undertaking is enormous, it encompasses the world, not just the US. In life sometimes it is quality over quantity. If you take the time to make something special, it will gain the attention of more people.
How about you? Did you watch the World Cup? Who did you root for? Who do you think will win it all? Comment below and subscribe.
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